1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of automotive systems. More specifically, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for protecting an electric steering system of a motor vehicle having a control, an electric motor, a control circuit and a gear mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
In workshops, the steering systems of jacked-up motor vehicles is frequently adjusted by swiveling the front wheels of the vehicle. For example, this may be done to check the movement of the steering drive or to gain access, by means of an extreme position of the steering system, to parts which are to be checked or repaired. In such a situation, there is frequently a relatively fast and unbraked movement against the the mass inertia of the steering wheel and of the steering system result in high acceleration moments. This is particularly true when there is a high transition ratio between the wheel angle and the steering wheel angle. In addition, in the case of electrical power-assisted steering systems, the electric motor is also accelerated to a high degree, specifically to a particularly high rotational speed due to the relatively high gear transmission ratio. As a result when sudden braking occurs against the stop, very high acceleration moments can damage the gear mechanism between the electric motor and steering system.
In the vehicle manufacturer""s schedule of specifications, a high maximum load capacity for the steering system is therefore provided, and this maximum load capacity far exceeds the steering moments (approximately 5 Nm) normally applied by the driver so that the vehicle passes the so-called workshop misuse test in which the front wheels are completely accelerated and pivoted unbraked against the steering lock. For this reason, the force transmission elements, in particular the gear mechanism of the steering system, must be dimensioned far beyond the normal requirements. Protection against the high acceleration moments could be provided, for example, with a slip clutch between the mass of the motor and the gear mechanism, but this a very technically complex solution.
The present invention is therefore based on the object of using simple and inexpensive means to reduce the high braking torque during rapid swiveling of the front wheels against the steering lock.
In an exemplary embodiment, an object of the present invention is achieved in that the electric motor is connected to a brake circuit which applies an electrical load to the motor if the rotational speed exceeds a predefined value.
The protective device according to the invention is suitable for so-called power-assisted steering systems in which the steering per se is effected by means of a steering wheel which is connected in a conventional mechanical way, and an electric motor is controlled in such a way that it supports the manually executed movement. In addition, the protective device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention is advantageously also suitable for steering devices in which there is no direct mechanical connection provided between the control, for example the steering wheel, and the steering gear, but rather electrical control of the electric motor is provided in such a way that the steering complies with the inputs made via the control (i.e. steer-by-wire).
The protective device according to the invention ensures that the speed is limited as the front wheels swivel, and the deceleration when the steering lock is reached is also limited. In this arrangement, in the case of a swiveling movement which is not particularly fast, the force application required to execute it is not made greater. In the protective device according to the invention, the electric motor is operated as a generator and thus brakes the steering movement.
Accordingly, the steering characteristics during normal operation of the motor vehicle are not at all adversely affected by the protective device according to the invention. In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the brake circuit is switched off by the control circuit while the motor vehicle is operating.
One advantageous refinement of the protective device according to the invention is obtained with extremely little expenditure in that the brake circuit is formed by a threshold circuit which is connected on the input side to the terminals serving the electric motor, and at least one semiconductor switch, which can be actuated by the threshold value circuit, of an output stage which is also used for driving. As an adaptation to customary output stages, there is preferably provision here for the load to be formed by at least two semiconductor switches of a bridge output stage.
A particularly simple brake circuit is achieved with this refinement in particular by virtue of the fact that the threshold value circuit is composed of two diodes which are each connected to a terminal of the electric motor and which are both connected to a pole of a Z diode, and wherein the other pole of the Z diode is connected to control inputs of the semiconductor switches.
In another advantageous exemplary embodiment, the protective device can be switched off by arranging switches which can be controlled by the control circuit in feeder lines of the threshold value circuit to the control electrodes, in which case, to increase safety, it is possible to provide for a further controllable switch to be arranged between at least one of the diodes and the Z diode. The controllable switches are preferably formed by a relay here.
The invention may be achieved in a variety of different physical structures. One exemplary embodiment is described below and illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings, of which: